International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG) and Novartis Group have entered into an agreement under which ICIG will acquire all of the shares in Sandoz Industrial Products GmbH, a Frankfurt-Höchst-based manufacturer of enzyme-based fermentation products and intermediates for the pharmaceutical industry, especially for the use in antibiotics. Closing of the transaction is anticipated to occur on April 1, 2016.

Sandoz’s decision to withdraw from the production of intermediates for 7-ACA antibiotics for external customers in May 2015 initiated a dual track process preparing the site for a sale and securing its customer base while alternatively considering a shutdown of its operation at the Industriepark Höchst.

Sandoz Industrial Products GmbH will maintain its operations associated with the CordenPharma Group, the pharma platform of ICIG. The business will be complementary to both ICIG’s pharma activities as well as to its fine chemicals activities within the WeylChem Group. The site represents an important building block for further expansion into fermentation-based production technology for ICIG.

With the acquisition of the Sandoz Höchst site, CordenPharma Group will become one of the major suppliers of 7-ACA to customers worldwide. CordenPharma will also use the material in-house for its own antibiotics value chain at its Latina site in Italy.

“The new site will expand CordenPharma’s operations, growing its enzymes-based manufacturing portfolio and dedicated antibiotics technology platform and will add state-of-the-art capabilities in microbial fermentation and enzymatic reactions to WeylChem’s extensive non-GMP production capabilities as well,” said Achim Riemann, managing director, ICIG.

“With the newly acquired plant at the Höchst site, ICIG further increases its footprint in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main area,” said Patrick Schnitzer, managing director, ICIG. “We are focused on the continuation and further development of the business, as we have successfully demonstrated in many other transactions.”